The Joy of Lumpia

I have always loved egg rolls and spring rolls and never looked into how to make them.  I loved the crisp outside with it's deep fried goodness and decadence.  Then Ruby joined the family and became famous for her Lumpia.  I love meat filling even more than veggies so Lumpia became an instant hit with me.

Ruby would fix it for the family when we all got together and would make a huge platter full. I always wanted more!  It's a process that can get very old when you are the cook if you make too many or make it too often.  It's also a little pricy when you add in the dipping sauce.

I'm not good at deep frying and it's not good for us.  With all the left over oil after frying only one dish, it  seemed such a waste if you have to throw it out.  I found a way around that.  First, I used olive oil. This is much, much better for you than other oils.  Secondly, I could save and reuse the oil making popcorn.  A healthier dessert/evening snack for us. 

So I bit the bullet and bought all the ingredients:

Sweet dipping sauce

Small wraps

Ground beef (very lean)

Carrots

Soy Sauce (you can use low sodium)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I had on hand,

garlic

salt and pepper

onion

I mixed the ground beef with chopped onion, grated carrot, garlic, S&P, and soy sauce.  I didn't measure, I just guessed.  I would say about 2T soy sauce, 1t garlic, a large carrot, 1 lb ground beef and you can make adjustments from there.

Assemble your dish of water, wrapper and meat mixture. 

You squeeze a bit of this mixture into a log shape and place it in the middle of a wrapper.  Make sure it is no thicker than your thumb.  This way the ground beef will cook completely before the wrapper gets too brown.

Fold the wrapper and wet the end with water to make a seal.

I like them to be full, so after making  them I tamp a bit of extra mixture into both ends.

Make them all up before you begin to fry.  They should look like this:

Deep fry until one side is nice and brown, turn it over and cook the other side.  You much watch them very carefully.

Drain them very well.

I kept them hot in the oven while frying

Serve with dipping sauce.  A dozen makes a meal!  Yum!

They were EASY PEASY to make, even though it was time consuming.  I really don't know why I waited a over a decade to try to do them!!  I was so successful I am going to ask Ruby how to make some of her other Filipino dishes.


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